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YouTube-dl's repository has been restored
Today we reinstated youtube-dl, a popular project on GitHub, after we received additional information about the project that enabled us to reverse a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown.
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Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 913 posts.
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I Am Deleting the Blog
[EDIT 2/13/21: This post is originally from June 2020, but there’s been renewed interest in it because the NYT article involved just came out. This post says the NYT was going to write a posi…
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When you browse Instagram and find Tony Abbott's passport number
Do not get arrested challenge 2020
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It’s Time to Build
Every Western institution was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic, despite many prior warnings. This monumental failure of institutional effectiveness will reverberate for the rest of the decade, but it’s not too early to ask why, and what we need to do about it. Many of us would like to pin the cause on one…
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Tech sector job interviews assess anxiety, not software skills: study
The design of "technical interviews" is hurting the tech sector.
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How journalists use youtube-dl
The popular free software project “youtube-dl” was removed from Github on Friday following a legal notice from the Recording Industry Association of America claiming it violates copyright law. The tool is widely used by journalists for various reporting purposes.
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American Academy of Sleep Medicine calls for elimination of daylight saving time
Public health and safety would benefit from eliminating daylight saving time, according to a position statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
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Zoom needs to clean up its privacy act
[21 April 2020—Hundreds of people are arriving here from this tweet, which calls me a “Harvard researcher” and suggests that this post and the three that follow are about “the ful…
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Your Computer Isn't Yours
There have been several updates appended to this page as of 2020-11-16, please see below. Also available in: Türkçe Français Español Português Português…
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ICANN board withholds consent for a change of control of the .org registry
After completing extensive due diligence, the ICANN Board found that withholding consent of the transfer of PIR from the Internet Society (ISOC) to Ethos Capital was reasonable, and the right thing to do.
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My Resignation from the Intercept
The same trends of repression, censorship and ideological homogeneity plaguing the national press generally have engulfed the media outlet I co-founded, culminating in censorship of my own articles.
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We Chat, They Watch
WeChat communications conducted entirely among non-China-registered accounts are subject to pervasive content surveillance that was previously thought to be exclusively reserved for China-registered accounts.
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On the Use of a Life
First, to dispense with the philosophical argument: Yes, this is my life, and yes, I'm free to use — or waste — it however I please; but I don't think there's anything wrong with asking if this is how my time could be best spent. That applies doubly if the question is not merely about the choices I made but is rather…
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Not everyone has an internal monologue
My day was completely ruined yesterday when I stumbled upon a fun fact that absolutely obliterated my mind. I saw this tweet yesterday that said that not everyone has an internal monologue in their…
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Finland adds the demoscene as a UNESCO intangible world cultural heritage
"Demoskene is an international community focused on demos, programming, graphics and sound creatively real-time audiovisual performances. [..] Subculture is an empowering and important part of identity for its members."
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How We Saved Dot Org
If you come at the nonprofit sector, you’d best not miss.Nonprofits and NGOs around the world were stunned last November when the Internet Society (ISOC) announced that it had agreed to sell the Public Interest Registry—the organization that manages the .ORG top-level domain (TLD)—to private equity...
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YouTube to remove content that alleges widespread election fraud
Updates to our work supporting the integrity of the 2020 U.S. election.
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DuckDuckGo is good enough for regular use
Google recently launched a desktop redesign. The favicon and URL breadcrumbs were turned into a header for organic search results. Ads had the same design, but were identified using the string "Ad" instead of the favicon. This design wasn't new. Google's mobile web search has served this design since May 2019. But…
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Universal Basic Income is Capitalism 2.0
A Universal Basic Income (UBI) would improve everyone’s lives, increase our free time, empower workers, and ensure everyone has food and a roof over their head. These are noble goals, but obviously there’s a downside or it would already be implemented, right?
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MIT Ends Elsevier Negotiations
Standing by its commitment to provide equitable and open access to scholarship, MIT has ended negotiations with Elsevier for a new journals contract. Elsevier failed to present a proposal that aligned with the principles of the MIT Framework for Publisher Contracts.
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Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly
In the last few years, you’ve likely seen a fair few comments about monopolies in the tech industry, and suggestions for breaking them up…
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Amazon disallows pointing out paid reviews
I recently bought a webcam from Amazon (late to the party, I know), and when it came it was fine but not amazing. When I went through the packaging I saw a little card saying “send us a scree…
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Congrats! Web scraping is legal! (US precedent)
Uncover fast-growing tech companies, track venture funds, and access verified founder contacts on one modern platform.
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